Using Window Designer to design and fabricate your aluminium windows and doors could make you up to five times more efficient, First Degree Systems has announced.

“The profitability of aluminium has grown tremendously,” Greg Beachim, sales manager at First Degree Systems, said. “But what hasn’t really come along the same way is the software capabilities of some of the aluminium systems.

“The potentially cumbersome or time-consuming software products that are given away free of charge don’t cut the additional processes that are needed for this expanding market.

“Fabricators are also more likely to be running more than one aluminium system through the factory, so it makes no sense to be running multiple pieces of software alongside each other.”

Greg said that even those third-party software platforms, which incorporate the technical data from multiple systems, tend to be architectural, and are thus slow when processing products and require a high degree of technical understanding.

Window Designer, on the other hand, is a configurator, which can work with any profile product, be it PVC, aluminium, or timber, allowing you to centralise all processing and benefit from its wider functionality.

“If we look at meeting the general high-volume domestic needs of the market, what you’ve got is a product that goes into an aperture,” he said. “It’s normally a domestic product, and not a commercial application. It’s not going into a skyrise block; it’s going into a normal household application.

“So, it’s been pre-configured to a business’s needs: you select the product, you select the style, you select the size, and it will give you a price. If that meets your needs, you can then send it straight to manufacture.

“The permutations, such as bead or colour options, are simple: just click and go. Whereas, traditional aluminium processing can be much more cumbersome: swapping out parts can be long winded. The actual processing might take you much longer. So, Window Designer gives direct wins as far as the speed of the actual processing is concerned. In fact, it is up to five times quicker than software specially designed for aluminium fabrication.”

Another key saving for window fabricators is that they only need one piece of software across all production lines.

“If you can get that centralised team to work on product using the same software, then it’s a win-win situation,” Greg said. “You are reducing overheads, you are reducing the number of people processing products, and you’re moving into a situation where you’re much more flexible, and able to meet the mounting demands of the market while adding value to your bottom line.”